Predjama Castle is located just nine kilometres from Postojna Cave, which I featured here last time. It is situated in a cave mouth, halfway up a 123-metre-high cliff, where it has been perched for more than 800 years. It is formidable, seemingly impregnable and has a fascinating if not amusing history.
Behind the largest cave castle in the world, as listed by Guinness World Records, there is a network of secret tunnels from where the knight Erazem of Predjama would set out on his plundering expeditions.
Erazem (Erasmus) Lueger was a Robin Hood-like 15th-century robber-baron who stole from the rich to give to the poor. He supported Hungary during the Austrian-Hungarian wars and remained ensconced in the castle, from where he conducted raids using a secret passage that led out from behind the rock wall.
In 1484 the Austrian army besieged the castle, but it proved impregnable. Erasmus apparently mocked his attackers, even showering them with meat and fresh cherries to demonstrate his unassailable position. But according to legend the Austrians had the last laugh, killing Erasmus with a cannonball as he was using the bathroom.
In the castle you can see a variety of original items as well as replicas, models and hunting trophies in the Knight’s Room, the dining room and the Renaissance Hall.
The cave below the castle is part of the 14-kilometre Predjama cave system. It is open to visitors from May to September, but is closed in winter when its resident colony of bats is hibernating.
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